


Why Does The World Revolve Around You?

by cylawings



Category: RWBY
Genre: Arguments, Fighting, Fluff, M/M, Near-Death Experience, Pre-Relationship, Theyre still younger, Violence, eventual OCs, still going to Beacon, tags could still change as i write
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-10 06:58:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5575711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cylawings/pseuds/cylawings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Qrow and Ozpin. Beast and Sea. Wild and Calm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This takes place when these characters are still younger and going to Beacon.<br/>This fic is me taking my chance to write an actual arcing storyline.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Animals

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyyyy, I haven't written a long serious story in such a long time so please bare with me! This story does have lots of others characters in it and a slow-ish build for the romance of Qrow and Ozpin.  
> I'm not sure how long this'll end up being but let's hope long!! I'm not sure how often I'll update this but with how often I work on it let's hope as often as possible.

  Qrow was running. He didn't remember running so fast before. Burnt trees and wrecked buildings flashed by him as he dodged around corners, sprinting fast enough he was sure if someone had been there theyd announce him the new best athlete. Loud screeches of the Grimm chasing him could be heard. He'd been unlucky enough to meet a group of Nightstalkers, and, realizing he was outmatched, had started running. Why did he decide seperating from the others was a good idea, why did he always try doing things by himself, why was he so stupid.  
  He skidded to a stop as he met a pile of wreckage blocking the way. "shit, shit, shit, shit-" he looked around frantically, and even considered trying to climb up and over it when the grimm caught up. He turned to face them, drawing his weapon as he backed up until his back hit the wall. There was at least four of them and they were huge. There was no way he could take them on himself.  
  Thank whatever God that made the next events happen, because if they hadn't Qrow was sure he would have died. Qrow looked up as he saw something flash out from above, in what was left of one building and come down upon the grimm.The grimm were shocked by the sudden new attacker, and Qrow took his chance to leap at one. It all delved into chaos after that. Thanks to a combination of surprise on the grimms part, and luck on Qrows part the two quickly managed to finish them off, though not without several minor injuries themselves.  
  Qrow, after killing the last one, turned to look at the man who'd come to his rescue. "I don't know where you came from Ozpin, but thank god you showed up."  
  Ozpin adjusted his glasses, out of breathe and dirty from the fight, "Glynda and I are on a mission nearby, I saw the nightcrawlers chasing something from a distance and followed them." He straightened out his shirt, dusting himself off and frowning at tears in the fabric caused by the brawl. "I wasn't aware Team STRQ were supposed to be in this area as well."  
  "Welllll... I may or may not have seen an abandoned city and snuck away from them."  
  Ozpin gave him a look, "You are going to be in so much trouble when you get back to them."  
  Qrow shrugged, giving a grin. "They should keep a better eye on me."  
  Ozpin rolled his eyes, but a small smile tugged on his lips. He turned and started walking, waving for Qrow to follow. "It's getting late, you can stay at our camp. Surely your team can wait until morning to see you."  
  Qrow followed him, "I won't hear the end of it from them when I get back."  
  Ozpin chuckled. "I'm sure." He glanced at Qrow, "So, may I ask how exactly you ended up with four nightstalkers chasing you?"  
  "Might have accidentally walked into a nest?"  
  "Oh gosh, really?!"  
  "Yeah." Qrow sighed, running his hand through his hair, "Learnt my lesson, definetly gotta pay more attention in class about signs of grimm packs."  
  "Are you even passing your classes?" Ozpin questioned, though in a way that said he already knew the answer.  
  "No clue."  
  "You really should pay better attention. You want to graduate, don't you?"  
  "I'll be fineeee. Don't worry about me Ozzy."  
  Ozpin gave him a look but didn't comment on the nickname. He gestured to a building, "We're up here. Hope your alright with a bit of climbing."  
  "Welp, I don't really have a choice, do I." He slipped his weapon away before starting to climb.  
  It wasn't as terribly high up as Qrow had been expecting. He pushed himself up into the level of the building that wasn't completely destroyed, seeing the remains of a fire. Glynda herself was sitting there.  
  She looked up, one brow arching when she saw Qrow. "Why is he here?"  
  "He needs somewhere to stay." Ozpin said casually.  
  She looked between them but said nothing more on it. She stood, and stretched. "I'll patrol, let you two catch up." She was gone before either of the men could say anything.  
  Qrow laughed softly, "She knows us too well."  
  "Or maybe not well enough." Ozpin commented as he grabbed some wood from a pile to throw on the burnt out fire. He knelt down to relight it, as he did so he asked, "So, how have you been? Outside of nearly getting killed and sneaking away from your team."  
  Qrow sat down next to the fire, shrugging. "I've been good. We were just finished with our mission, our means of getting home had been destroyed though. We were walking back."  
  "Oh, well if you can bring them back here as soon as Glynda and I finish we can take you home." Ozpin offered as he managed to finally get the fire to light. It illuminated his face nicely in the dark.  
  "If it's not too much trouble, they'd probably love that. You have no idea how whiney Raven can get." Qrow grinned, leaning forward to warm his hands.  
  Ozpin smiled, "Well, we'll be happy to take you all back."  
  They were quiet for awhile after that. Glynda eventually returned. When she did, she told them they should be sleeping. Qrow rolled his eyes and grumbled at her but didn't argue. Ozpin said he'd take first watch, getting up to go sit on the edge of the building. He seemed a bit distant as he did it, his eyes making him look like he was somewhere else.  
  Qrow frowned a bit but didn't try to think on it too much. Ozpin always did that, he shouldn't worry. He'd done it since the day he'd met him really. Sometimes the man would just grow distant, and not entirely seem like he was there. Like he belonged somewhere else.  
  It was just an Ozpin thing. That's all.  
  The night passed quickly, and when Qrow woke in morning he called Raven. He received a lot of scolding and yelling but she said they were on their way nontheless. Ozpin gave him a look that just read 'you got yelled at, didn't you?'. Qrow just gave a wide grin in response.  
  When Team STRQ finally showed up, Raven nearly beat the shit out of Qrow, he had to fight back to keep her from slaughtering him. Summer ended up having to shove herself between the siblings to make them stop. Taiyang greeted Glynda and Ozpin, leaving Summer to deal with the Branwen's bickering.  
  Summer offered her team help Ozpin and Glynda finish up, which they graciously accepted. It couldn't be easy for the two, the other members of their team having dropped out of the school halfway through their first year. Now they weren't even entirely counted as an official team, though some jokingly called them Team GO. Honestly the name would fit them. They were always going off to do SOMETHING, let it be school-related or not.  
  Qrow sometimes wondered what the heck they could be so busy even doing. He was more concerned how on earth they still managed to have social lives. They seriously seemed like they knew everyone, Qrow had never had trouble finding someone when he could ask them.  
  They managed to wrap up the mission extremely quickly, and as they were flying back to Beacon, Qrow and Ozpin made small conversation. Nothing very important, mostly talking about upcoming events and how the rest of this year would play out. One of them, Qrow honestly couldn't remember who, brought up the topic of the White Fang revolts going on which led to a very interesting conversation.  
  "Honestly I think they just need to stop blocking the streets, yknow?" Qrow muttured nonchalantly. "Let people get along with their business, no one is going to bug them if they just stay of the way."  
  "Qrow, they've been treated awfully their entire lives, they deserve better than what they're getting right now." Ozpin frowned at him.  
  "Oh I get it, I get it," Qrow said sarcastically, "I've got ears sprouting from my head, and that makes life harddd. So? Everyone has something that makes life hard for them."  
  "How can you say that?" Ozpin tone teetered on the edge of anger. "Have you not paid attention to our history? They were treated like animals."  
  "Well they are animals!!"  
   "QROW." Summer looked back at him, astonished.  
  "What? They are! It's literally part of the definition for them!" Qrow growled in defense.  
  "But they are people!" Summer snapped, "They have feelings, hopes, dreams, just like us!"  
  "Qrow, can you even hear what your saying right now?!" Taiyang asked in shock.  
  Everyone on the ship suddenly seemed to be turning against Qrow, angry eyes burning into him so hard he was surprised he didn't catch fire. "Jeez, sorry for sharing my opinion." He grumbled, leaning back against the wall, but silently wishing it would give way and let him fall out of this damn ship. Just let him get anywhere where all these eyes weren't on him. "Do we seriously have to fight about this?"  
  Summer was suddenly right in front of him, so close he could feel her breathe as she hissed. "I don't care what you think, those poor people don't deserve whats been done to them. So yes, we do have to fight about this." She backed off just enough that he could actually see the entirety of her disgusted expression. "I'm not giving you your key to the dorms back until you apologize."  
  "Wait-" He looked down and sure enough she'd taken it. "Summer! You can't!"  
  "I most certainly can!" She snapped.  
  As soon as they landed, Summer stormed off, Taiyang running after her. Qrow groaned and made a mental note to NEVER talk about faunice in front of his team again. He looked to Raven, hoping his sister would support him. She just shook her head and headed after their teammates. In the end the only one who hadn't left yet was Ozpin.  
  "Your mad at me too, aren't you?" He asked in a grumpy tone.  
  Ozpin seemed far too calm, but that was just one of those weird alluring things about him. He was almost like the ocean to a degree. "Yes. I am mad. But I can't leave you alone with your entire team mad at you."  
  "Oh really?" Qrow mumbled dully.  
  "It's my duty as your best friend."  
  "Oz."  
  "Yes?"  
  "Your really weird." Qrow stated bluntly. "But that's what I like about you."  
  "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not." Ozpin chuckled. "But thank you."


	2. Fairytales

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is kinda short-  
> I promise it's important to the story

  Summer stayed true to what she said and didn't let Qrow back in. He refused to apologize for his opinions and it ended with her and him yelling at eachother through the door. After a heated argument, she stopped responding, leaving Qrow alone in the hallway.   
  Qrow grumbled under his breathe, but with nothing else to do started wandering. He didn't think much about where he was going, still fairly ticked off. His feet carried him to the library. "Of course brain, why not. Read some books, it'll make you calmer." He snarked at himself under his breathe.  
  He didn't read much, mostly because nothing interested him. He felt like everything he was forced to read in classes were boring and not worth his time. He didn't see why anything else could be much better.  
  Judging it was fairly late the library was fairly empty. A few other students were here and there but it was otherwise void of life. He started walking along the rows of books, not really looking for anything, just walking. As he walked he came across an area tucked away in the back of the library. He'd never seen it before but he never went to the library unless forced so that figures. It was almost like a living room, several couches and tables were littered about.  
  He saw none other than Ozpin sitting on one of the couches, reading a book. Figures, Ozpin always seemed like he'd be a total bookworm. Qrow glanced around and seeing nobody around went and sat next to him, "Hey!"  
  Ozpin jumped, appearing to have not seen him approaching. "Oh! Qrow-" He looked up from his book, before asking, "Are you locked out?"  
  "How'd you guess?" Was Qrows sarcastic response. "What're you reading?"  
  Ozpin looked down at his book, almost like he forgot he had been reading it just moments before. "Oh... fairytales."  
  "Fairytales?"  
  Ozpin nodded, idly fingering the page he was on. "They're very... interesting." There he went, doing that weird thing where he wasn't completely there.  
  Qrow frowned a bit, before settling back against the couch, "Well, read me one."  
  "Excuse me?" Ozpin looked up.  
  Qrow gestured to the book. "Read me one. Your favorite."  
  Ozpin stared at him a moment as if checking to see if he was serious, and once he realized he was he looked back to the book. He fumbled with the pages a bit as he very quickly flipped through it until he found the one. "The story of the seasons..."  
  As he read, Qrow listened pretty intently. He was reading the longer version of the story, though everyone had heard the shorter version. Qrow found he loved listening to Ozpin read. He had the voice for it, it was rather enrapturing.  
  "You should try reading professionally." Qrow murmured during one pause.  
  Ozpin seemed amused by that. "Oh? Why's that?"  
  "Your voice is fucking soothing, that's why." He got a flick on the face for the language. "What?! It's true!"  
  Ozpin chuckled, having not entirely noticed until just then how during his reading he'd ended up leaning against Qrow a bit. He saw no reason to change it. "Well, thank you. I've never had my voice complimented."  
  "I don't know why not," Qrow mumbled. "Your voice is damn lovely."  
  Ozpin gave a quiet humm, "I'm glad to hear it then."  
  They sat together for quite awhile after that, Ozpin reading and Qrow listening to him. Ozpin ended up reading several stories, and lord knows how long they were there. Ozpin hardly noticed when Qrow passed out, though seeing him asleep Ozpin couldn't bring himself to wake him. Even if he did, Qrow wouldn't be able to get back into his room. If anyone knew anything, it was that Summer was stubborn as hell.   
  Ozpin wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep himself, but found himself waking the next morning. He had ended up leaning against Qrow, his head resting on his shoulder. Qrow had ended up with his head leaned against Ozpins and all in all, it was comfortable but much more intimate than anything they'd really done before.  
  Qrow shifted after awhile, sitting up and rubbing his face. "Ugh- oh jeez, how long was I out?"  
  Ozpin sat up, stretching. "I think we were both out all night."  
  "What? Really?!" Qrow shifted, pulling out his phone. He saw many missed messages from all of his teammates asking where he was, and even a few threats from Raven saying if he didn't come out she'd kick his ass. "Welp, my team seems to have been looking for me last night."  
  Ozpin chuckled, "Perhaps they aren't mad anymore?"  
  "I doubt it," Qrow huffed, slipping the phone away. "They just want to make sure I'm not doing anything stupid."  
  "Ah I see. I suppose they know you too well." Ozpin hummed, sitting up straighter and closing the book that was still open in his lap.  
  "Or maybe not well enough." Qrow retorted, but after they shared a look they started laughing. He stood up, "Well I better go find them. Don't want Raven to kill me." He started to head off but paused, "Oh.. actually, hey Oz?"  
  "Yes?" Ozpin looked up.  
  "I really enjoyed last night... if you wanna, could we meet here again sometime?"  
  Ozpin looked at him, a bit surprised. A soft smile painted his features and he nodded, "Of course. I'd love to."  
  Qrow grinned, giving him a thumbs up and a wink before he disappeared into the rows of books. Ozpin watched him go and once he was gone he looked down at his book. He ran his thumb over it, before smiling a bit. He stood and headed off himself, sure Glynda was looking for him.  
  Only one thing was left behind, the book of fairytales.


	3. You Never Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeeey! Chapter 3!
> 
> We actually get some Ozqrow-esque conversations finallyyyyyy

  Ozpin waved to Glynda as he approached., finding her in the school courtyard. She gave him a look, though her gaze quickly returned to the device she had in hand, busily tapping away. "Where were you?"  
  "Does it matter?"  
  "You never came back to the dorm, I was almost worried you'd gotten into trouble." Her tone sure didn't make her sound like she'd been that worried but he didn't blame her, she knew him too well to think he'd been in trouble.  
  "I was reading and fell asleep." He said simply.  
  Glynda raised a brow, looking at him before reaching over and picking a darker strand of hair off his shoulder. "Not alone I see."  
  Ozpin just smiled a bit at her and didnt say anything.  
  "Were you with Qrow?"  
  "It's a possibility." Ozpin glanced away, though she didn't miss his blush. "It's nothing to worry about, we just fell asleep on the same couch while reading."  
  "I wasn't particularly accusing you of anything." She gave him a look. "Though saying something like that does make me wonder."  
  "Glynda, you know we wouldn't-"  
  "I'm messing with you. I know," She laughed softly, and shook her head at him."Your not even out to him, it was unlikely anything of that sort occured."  
  Ozpin nodded, adjusting his glasses as he said, "I'm still not sure how to tell him honestly... You heard him and what he said about faunice, what if he feels similarly about something like this?"  
  "I don't think he does. But if you decide to come out to him and he acts like a jerk, I'll kill him."  
  "Maybe I shouldn't risk it then." Ozpin laughed weakly.  
  Glynda sighed, before giving him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Fine. I won't kill him. But really, you should tell him... you want him to know he can ask you to the dance when it comes, don't you?"  
  Ozpins smile faltered and he looked down. "He wouldn't ask me Glynda..."  
  "I don't know, you don't see the way he looks at you when your not paying attention." She flashed a humored expression.  
  Ozpin looked at her and silently willed the burning in his face to leave. He thanked the lord when a girl ran up to say hi to them, asking Glynda about, ironically enough, the dance.  
  "Hey, how far away is the dance Glynda? I might have to change some plans if it's next month-"  
  "Ah, I'm sorry to say that is when it is." Glynda smiled apologetically. "It's alright to miss it if you have to."  
  "Oh no! I definetly still want to go! Especially if Team GO is setting it up, I'm sure you two will make it amazinggggg~!!" She giggled excitedly before thanking Glynda and running off.  
  "Do you think we are going to make the dance  'amazingggg'?" Ozpin said the 'amazing' the same way the girl had.  
  Glynda elbowed him lightly, though was smiling. "Of course we will. We're Team GO after all."  
\------------  
  Qrow was with Taiyang, the girls too ticked at him to even talk to him still. They were at a restaurant in the city, getting food. Taiyang was trying to explain to Qrow why he should just apologize even if he didn't mean it, Qrow wasnt really listening to him though.  
  Taiyang eventually gave up trying to convince him, changing the subject. "So where on earth where you last night?"  
  "The library." Qrow stated simply.  
  "Really?!" Taiyang was surprised.  
  "Yup," He popped the 'p' as he said it, staring off through the window. He seemed like he was bored and wanted to be somewhere else.  
  "But... you never read, why were you there?"  
  "Nowhere else to go." He shrugged, looking down at the food he'd ordered. "And I found Ozpin there so, at least I wasn't alone."  
  "oh." That was Taiyangs only immediate response. He paused a moment before asking. "So, you and Oz... are you...?"  
  Qrow nearly spit his drink, coughing as he choked on it a moment. "What?! What on earth would make you think-? No! of course not!" He stammered, before sitting back with an angry huff.  
  Taiyang raised his hands in defense, "Okay! Okay jeez, sorry- I just though that maybe, yknow, with how much time you two spend together..." He trailed off as Qrow glared at him, before sighing. "You don't need to get so defensive yknow."  
  Qrow didn't say anything, focusing on eating instead. He could tell Taiyang was still staring at him, but he didn't want to talk about this. Anything but this topic.  
  "Qrow... You realize with how defensive your getting, it sure makes me think you do like him."  
  Qrows gaze snapped up to glare at Taiyang. "Tai, I don't want to talk about this." He growled flatly.  
  "Oh I see-" Taiyang started grinning. "You DO like him! Ha! I knew it!"  
  "Tai!" Qrow snapped, glaring away. "So what? Who cares if I have a thing for the nerd."  
  Taiyang seemed to just be getting a kick out of this, laughing. "Oh man- I saw this coming but I didn't expect you to actually come out about it!" He saw Qrow glaring at him and his laughter died down. "Qrow... You should tell him."  
  "And have him shoot me down? No thanks." Qrow grumbled.  
  Taiyang sighed, leaning his head against his hand. "You don't realize how much he talks about you when your not around... you know, in the good way. He thinks your amazing. I think you'd make him really happy if you told him."  
  Qrow tried to hold his angry expression, but gave it up finally with a sigh. "You really think so?"  
  Taiyang nodded, "How about closer to the dance? In a few weeks, idunno... you guys could go together." He chuckled, "Ah man, that'd be super cute."  
  "Don't call us cute." Qrow growled.  
  That just made Taiyang laugh again.


	4. Never Been So Happy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LONGER CHAPTER, YAY ME

  "Wait? Why did the guy get sent to prison?!" Qrow peered at the words on the page over Ozpins head.  
  "Because the fairy didn't stay true to their agreement, she set him up." Ozpin explained.  
  "What? That's messed up." Qrow grumbled.  
  "Well the entire point is to not trust a stranger just because they look like they're nice." Ozpin said, leaning his head back to look at Qrow. They'd ended up sitting in a different way than the last several times they'd ended up here, reading fairytales together. Ozpin was sitting sideways on the couch so his legs were up on it, leaned against Qrows side. He was slid far enough down on the couch that Qrow just rested his chin ontop of Ozpins head so he could see the book as they read.  
  "Do you want to read one about a dragon or one about a troll next?" Ozpin asked, checking the table of contents for what they hadn't read yet.  
  Qrow was quiet a moment before he said, "Actually Oz.. I wanted to talk to you about something."  
  "Oh?" Ozpin shifted to sit normally so he could look at Qrow. "What is it?"  
  Qrow looked at him and didn't respond right away. The dance was fast approaching and neither had listened to their friends of course. They hadn't spoken to eachother about what they were told they should. Qrow was finally trying to be brave but some part of him was ready to chicken out at any second. "So... the dance is coming up real fast, huh?"  
  Ozpin looked surprised having Qrow bring it up, "Yes, it is. Glynda has been going mad finishing up our plans for it..." He paused before asking, "Why do you bring it up?"  
  "Just wondering how it was going." Qrow cursed himself silently as he couldn't get himself to say what he wanted. "Are you going with anyone?"  
  "Oh, no, no." Ozpin laughed weakly, "I wouldn't know who to ask."  
  Qrow snickered, nudging him "I don't know Ozzy, there's plenty of cute girls who'd just die if you asked them." What was he doing? For crying out loud JUST ASK HIM.  
  Ozpin chuckled nervously, glancing away. "A-Actually Qrow... I don't think I'll be asking any girls any time soon."  
 "Aw, why not? Too shy~?" Qrow teased. His mind screamed at him to stop talking but he kept going anyways.  
  Ozpin shook his head, picking at the edge of the book as he tried to make his voice work. "I'm not really... interested in girls." When he was met by silence he grimaced, too afraid to look up. "I don't like girls... I, uh, I like guys."  
  The silence carried on so long you almost would have thought Qrow had been shot. Finally a small "oh" left him as he looked down at the floor. Neither said anything for what felt like eternity, Qrow finally breaking the silence. "Well, I kinda swing both ways if you know what I'm saying."   
  Ozpin looked up at him. That wasn't the response he was expecting.  
  "So actually, Oz..." Qrow told himself to just go for it. "Wanna go to the dance with me?"  
  Another long silence carried out but finally Ozpin spoke, "I-I... Yes! Yes of course!" He seemed actually relieved that Qrow had asked. "I didn't expect you to-"  
  "Well I had no idea that you were-" They both trailed off and looked at eachother. After several seconds they started laughing. "Guess I didn't know you as well as I thought I did."  
  "I suppose I have to say the same." Ozpin said, sounding happier than he had most of the day.  
\-------------  
  "Glynda!!" Ozpin ran into their room so fast he nearly tripped. She jumped, looking up from her computer as he slid in. "Glynda you won't believe what happened!!"  
  "Well from your face I can guess." She smiled a bit. She hadn't seem him this excited before. Excited wasn't even a good word to describe him at the moment, he was downright giddy.  
  "Glynda, he asked me!" Ozpin was grinning so wide his face hurt. "I just- Glynda he actually asked me I-" He could hardly speak and his speech turned into happy noises, squeals and giggles. He fell over on his bed, hiding his face as he squealed.  
  Glynda couldn't help laugh. "You sound like a teenage girl."  
  He tried to get a hold of himself but couldn't help more giddy noises leaving him, "Glyndaaa! You don't understand!"  
  "I do." She couldn't stop herself from smiling. "I've just never seen you so happy like this before."  
  Ozpin sat up, still smiling. "That's because I've never been so happy like this before!" He rubbed his face, trying to stop smiling but he couldn't. "Ahh, just, Glynda I can't even put into words how I feel right now!" He suddenly froze, "I don't have anything to wear- Glynda I don't have anything to wear to the dance! I wasn't planning on actually going with anyone!"  
  "What are you talking about, don't you have a suit?" She asked slowly.  
  "No! Well, yes, but not for something like this." He suddenly seemed to be panicking. "We NEED to go shopping!!"  
  Glynda laughed, "Okay, okay, calm down. We can go out as soon as I finish this assignment." She looked back to her computer, continuing to type. "I think you'd look rather fetching in green."  
\-----------  
  Qrow had finally gotten Summer to let him back in, though it had taken several days before she did. She still was upset with him and made it very clear but she at least would talk to him now.   
  Qrow came back to the room feeling happier than usual. The other three were there, laying on their own beds and doing their own things. Taiyang waved when he came in, while Summer was too absorbed in what she was reading to look up.  
  Raven had been cleaning out her weapon, though looked up when she saw Qrow. "Where were you? We were going to study together but we couldn't find you anywhere."  
  "Ugh, glad I missed it then. I was with Oz." He responded simply, going to sit on his own bed.  
  "What do you guys even do?" Taiyang asked. "I'm sure you have to get bored of each other sometimes."  
  Qrow shrugged. "We read."  
  "You never read." Summer commented as she turned the page of her book.  
  "Okay, correction, he reads. I just listen."  
  "What do you even read?" Raven asked.   
  "Fairytales." Qrow shrugged. "They're interesting."  
  Summer looked up, suddenly interested. "Oh? What kind?"  
  "Idunno, he has a huge book of them.. We've read stuff like Dark Castle, The Two Brothers, Story of The Seasons.. A lot that everyone knows about and a few I've never heard of before."  
  Summer gave a thoughtful hum, "I see..." She looked back to her book. "Have you read The King yet?"  
  "No? Why?"  
  "The King in it kinda reminds me of you," She gave him a bitter look.  
  "What?! Are you comparing me to a greedy King or something?!" Qrow glared at her.  
  Raven groaned, "Can you two not start right now please?" She turned to put her weapon on the table before getting up to go sit next to Qrow. "See, The King is about a King who doesn't care about anyone or anything but himself. So she's saying you don't give a shit about anyone."  
  "That's not true!" He turned angry eyes on Summer. "I care about us!" He gestured to the four of them.  
  Summer closed her book with an annoyed sigh. "Yeah but... your YOU. You can't honestly tell me you really care what anyone outside of our team thinks about you."  
  "I care what Ozpin thinks about me, he's outside of the team!" Qrow growled in defense.  
    Summer crossed her arms, "Team GO don't count either. Tell me the truth, if someone outside of us and GO thought you were a jerk, an idiot, or worse, would you care?"  
 "Well... no. But I thought that'd be a good thing?" Qrow said pointedly. "I'm not gonna go start a fight because of someones thoughts of me." He glanced at Raven, "Unlike SOMEONE I know."  
  "Hey!" Ravens eyes burned as she snapped around to glare at him.   
  Summer held up a hand to silence her before she could yell at him. "To an extent it's good, yes. But you don't care if you hurt anybody Qrow. That's the point I'm trying to make."  
  Qrow didn't say anything, just looking at her before he huffed and stood up. "Whatever." He started towards the door, he didn't want to deal with Summer right now.  
  "Hey!" She grabbed his arm and yanked him back. "Qrow, I'm just worried your gonna hurt someone some day and when you wish you could go back and change it, you won't be able to."  
  He refused to look at her. He knew she'd making one of those stupid concerned expressions. He pulled his arm out of her grip, "Stop it Summer, I'll be fine." He snapped before disappearing out the door.  
  Her arm dropped to her side as she stared helplessly at the door. "He's going to get himself in a lot of trouble one day..." She murmured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The King is actually gonna be used for some major plot points in this ;3  
> just thought I'd let you know~


	5. The King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we hear The King fairytale!
> 
> We also get more cute ozqrow moments this chapter so yay

  "What about this one?" Glynda held up a suit. "I think it'd look good on you."  
  "No, that's still not right." Ozpin said with a frown.  
  As she promised, they'd gone shopping. She'd expected this to go a lot quicker, but Ozpin was being needlessly picky. She'd never met a guy who was this picky about what suit he wanted but Oz was a lot of things she'd never seen before she met him.  
  She sighed, "You are literally the pickiest guy I've ever met." She turned to put it back and look for a different one.  
  "I'm only picky because this is important to me!" Ozpin snapped.  
  "I know, I know... But seriously, we've been here for so long, can't you just make up your mind?!" Glynda grumbled.  
  "Fine! Just give me a second," He held up two to her, "Which one?"  
  She looked between them before pointing to one. "That one."  
  "Are you sure?" He looked at it again, "It might-"  
  "OZ."  
  "Okay, okay, got it." He turned to put the other one back.  
  She crossed her arms, "Honestly what is the difference between the one I showed you earlier and this one? Half of these look the exact same."  
  "There's a difference Glynda, you wouldn't understand."  
  She rolled her eyes before grabbing him by his arm, "You made me help you find a suit, your helping me find a dress." She didn't wait for him to respond, dragging him along with her.  
  He didn't really argue and let her lead him to the girls section. The huge amount of glitter and color was quite the difference from where they'd just been. Glynda was far from interested in the glitter though, commenting on how 'stupid and cliché' it was. Ozpin attempted suggesting dresses to her but she turned them all down, her heart set on something either dark or purple.  
  "Ugh, these are all so bright, where the heck are the dark dresses." She glared at the bright yellows and reds as if that would make them disappear. "Seriously, you'd think they'd make it a bit easier to-" She was cut off as she ran straight into someone while turning a corner.  
  The person stumbled and nearly fell, snapping, "Hey! watch where your going you- Oh Glynda."  
  Ozpin looked past Glynda and saw Raven there. Behind her was Taiyang, looking like he'd been turned into the bag boy as his arms were completely full of stuff. Raven turned, shouting "Oi! You guys, Team GO's here!"  
  Summer and Qrow seemed to come out of nowhere from the rows of dresses. Qrow was helping Summer with her bags, though he wasn't carrying nearly as much as Taiyang.  
  "Oh, hey! Getting ready for the dance too?" Summer smiled as they approached.  
  Glynda nodded, "Of course." She noticed Raven carrying a black dress with several red highlights. "Wait- Where did you find that?" She asked immediately.  
  "Oh there's an entire section of dresses like this back there." She gestured in one direction. "I could show you."  
  "Yes! Please!" Glynda said with relief, "We've been here for so long, you have no idea-"  
  "Well follow me then!" Raven grinned, leading her away. "Tai! Keep up, we might need help carrying more stuff now!" Taiyang gave a long sigh but followed her nontheless.  
  "Is she even carrying anything herself...?" Ozpin asked slowly.  
  "Probably not." Summer giggled. "It's alright, Tai likes doing stuff for her." She smiled at him. "So Ozpin, are you going with anyone to the dance?"  
  Ozpin glanced at Qrow. So he hadn't told them. He raised an eyebrow at him as a silent question of if he could tell her. Qrow just shrugged. "Maybe.." He said slowly, looking back to her.  
  "I would be surprised if you ended up going alone." She tilted her head a bit. "Your much to handsome to be all alone at a dance."  
  Ozpin couldn't help but laugh nervously, "I don't know about that."  
  Qrow made an annoyed noise, "Ugh, stop flirting with Oz please."  
  "I wasn't! I was just trying to compliment him." Summer glared at Qrow. She huffed, "Please Ozpin, tell me how you can deal with him so well."  
  Ozpin shrugged, "I like being around him." He had a slight smile when he said it. "Though he can be a bit aggravating, I can't deny it."  
  "Hey, I'm not that bad." Qrow huffed. "Whatever, Summer you wanna take your bags and go catch up with Raven?" He held out the bags he'd been carrying. "I kinda wanna talk to Oz."  
  She looked like she was going to argue with him at first, but paused a moment. She looked between them before taking her bags. "Fine, but don't go running off. And dont do anything stupid."  
  As soon as she was gone Qrow took Ozpin by the arm and led him a different direction. "Were are we going?" Ozpin asked.  
  "We're running off to do something stupid." Qrow flashed a grin at him.  
  Ozpin couldn't help but laugh, "Summer is going to murder you."  
  "Eh, can't help it. I'm a rebel." He chuckled.  
\------------  
  Summer was ready to pull her hair out. "I AM GOING TO KILL HIM."  
  She and the others were outside the store and none of them could find Qrow. Or Ozpin for that matter. Glynda had everything she and Oz had bought with her so she wasn't really worried about losing anything. She was more worried Qrow would drag him into some ridiculous situation and then they'd all have to come running to save them.  
  Summer was having a fit. Glynda was sure she would strangle Qrow if he showed up right then. Raven was fairly ticked herself, going on about how Qrow was going to corrupt Ozpin. Taiyang didn't really have an opinion to voice.  
  "Where the hell could they have even gone?!" Raven glared at her phone as Qrow didn't pick up.  
  "I don't know! We're in the CITY RAVEN." Summer cried, throwing her arms up. "They could be ANYWHERE."  
  Glynda gave a quiet hum, "They could have gone back to the school."  
  Raven huffed, "As if. Qrow hates it there."  
  "But don't they always go to the library together?" Glynda responded pointedly.  
  Summers eyes widened a bit, "Your right! Okay back to school we go!" She headed off, not waiting to see if they followed. Her eyes were basically burning. "I am gonna kill him." She quietly hissed.  
\-----------  
  Qrow took them outside the city into the forest neighboring it. Ozpin tried asking him how far outside of the city they were going but Qrow wouldn't answer directly. Ozpin stopped asking and just let him lead him through the trees.  
  "Okay, it's right up here." Qrow gestured ahead of them where the trees stopped. As they stepped out from the trees, there was a slope up. When they reached the top, Ozpin found them at the edge of a cliff. You could see the entire city and even the sea in the distance.  
  "Oh wow..." Ozpin breathed. "You can see everything."  
  "Mhm." Qrow seemed proud. "I found this place on accident once. I love it here." He sat down, letting his legs hang off the edge of the cliff. Ozpin sat with him, though wasn't nearly brave enough to sit on the edge like Qrow.  
  "Hey, guess what I have with me," Qrow said. He pulled out the fairytale book from seemingly nowhere.  
  Ozpin perked, taking it. "How on earth do you have this?  
  "I stole it."  
  "Qrow!" Ozpin gasped.  
  Qrow laughed, "I'm kidding! I checked it out cause I wanted to take it up here with you." He fell back, laying in the grass. "So go ahead, pick one and let's do some reading."  
  Ozpin looked down at him, and couldn't help but smile. "Alright... One about a dragon sound good?" He asked as he thumbed through the pages.  
  Qrow was quiet a moment, frowning a bit before he asked. "Actually... could we read The King?"  
  Ozpin seemed a bit surprised. "Oh? Of course." Ozpin checked the table of contents to find its page. "May I ask why?"  
  Qrow frowned a bit but quickly forced a smile and shrugged. "I heard Summer mention it."  
  Ozpin was worrried slightly when he saw Qrow's split-second frown. "Alright.." He opened it to the page and started reading.  
  The story was of a King, one who was so powerful and almighty he had no cares in the world. He felt he could have whatever he wanted without an issue because of his power. Anyone who defied him was put to death.  
  He would often take whatever women he wished for his own personal pleasures. He would make farmers send them all the food they had whenever he felt like having a feast, for only himself of course. He could have anything and everything he wanted, so he took it all. He never cared who he hurt in the process.  
  His citizens were far from happy from his treatment of them. No one who worked for him liked him and few from neighboring kingdoms enjoyed him. Through time, he lost any love he'd had and everyone grew to despise him.  
  One night, all he townspeople gathered secretly. They planned to overthrow and murder the King. Many joined with the guards who worked for the King to overthrow him. Only one, a women who'd always believed there was good in the King refused to take part. She feared for his death and, wishing him to be safe, snuck into his chambers to warn him.  
  She gave him her cloak and he fled into the night, leaving her behind. The enraged citizens took her and accused her of being a traitor. They tied her up and left her for the monsters outside of the city.  
  The King stayed in the city, hiding as a homeless man on the streets. He had never been more miserable, more hungry or more tired in his life. He cried himself to sleep in alleyways at night, wishing he could go back to his power.  
  One night, as he sobbed, a magical elf came to him. It asked him what his troubles were. He described his issues to the elf and asked it if it could return to him his wealth and power. The elf shook it's head, 'I apologize. Yet I can tell you how to obtain a different kind of wealth.'  
  The King begged, desperate for something, anything. The elf told him he must be kind and help others, even when he couldn't help himself. That was how he could obtain this other kind of wealth.  
  The King promised to do as he was told. The next day he began his new plan. He was kind to others, helping anyone he could. He played with children and helped construction workers. Slowly word spread of the kind homeless man and one day a group of royal guards approached him. They told him he had the heart of a knight, brave and kind and asked if he would let them train him to be a member of the royal guard. He happily accepted, 'anything to help the people.'  
  It took many years of training, but the king surely did become a knight. He understood what the elf had told him as he went around town as a protector of the city. This wasn't the wealth he originally wished for yet instead a wealthiness like no other. One that did not give you gold or strength, but instead power through love and kindess.  
  He forgot of his title The King, a man bent on power and taking whatever he pleased, and became instead The Knight, a man with a brave soul and kind heart, wishing to protect others.  
  As Ozpin finished reading it he gave a small sigh. "I think it's a rather inspiring story..." He glanced to Qrow and saw him frowning. "Are you alright?"  
  Qrow didn't respond a long time. "Summer told me I remind her of The King." He finally said.  
  Ozpin frowned a bit, shifting so he could turn to face Qrow more. "Well... she could have meant as in when he becomes The Knight."  
  Qrow shook his head, "No. She meant The King." He stared at the sky, silent again for a bit. He looked at Ozpin, asking suddenly. "Oz, am I a bad person?"  
  Ozpin was surprised by the sudden question. "Well... I don't think your really bad." He murmured, speaking slowly out of fear of hurting Qrow with his words. "Your more just... reckless."  
  "Hm." Qrow gave a quiet hum. He went quiet again before asking quietly. "What do you like about me?"  
  Ozpin tilted his head a bit. "Well... Your not afraid to be you. And I believe your very protective of your friends. I... I like how untamed and wild you are."  
  Qrow smiled a bit, his eyes looking back to the sky. "I like you because your so smart and nice. And calm. Your kinda like the ocean."  
  "Hmm, The Untamed Beast and The Ocean. It sounds like the name of a fairytale." Ozpin chuckled.  
  Qrow laughed softly before tilting his head to the spot next to him. "Hey, come lay down with me."  
  Ozpin didn't see why not to. He shifted and laid back next to him. "The sky is beautiful..."  
  "Yeah." Qrow murmured.  
  "Do you ever wish you could float away and just... be up there... sitting on a cloud away from the world and it's problems?" Ozpin asked quietly.  
  "No. But it sounds pretty nice." Qrow smiled, glancing to him. "Let's go up there some day. Go sit on a cloud."  
  Ozpin glanced to him and couldn't help but smile. "Yes... I'd like that."


	6. The Dance

  Glynda had Ozpin seated in a chair, brushing his hair for him. She was trying to tell him to relax but he was extremely nervous. He kept asking her if he looked alright. Glynda tried to reassure him that he was fine, brushing his hair out so it wasn't nearly as messy as it usually liked to be.  
  "You know, if it makes you feel any better I will bet you five bucks that Qrow won't be wearing a tie." She said as she finished with his hair, setting her brush aside.  
  "Your not helping." Ozpin's frown didn't waver as he fidgeted with his hands.  
  She sighed, leaning over so she could look at herself in the mirror. "I don't see why your so nervous, I'm sure everything will be fine."  
  "I've never gone to something like this with someone. I'm always behind the scenes making sure it runs smoothly." He frowned even more, glancing at her. "Speaking of that, will you be alright running things with me off with the others?"  
  "Yes. I'll be fine." She smiled at him. "I want you to relax and have fun." She stood back and helped him stand, placing her hands on his shoulders. "So please, try smiling for me?"  
  Ozpin took a deep breath and gave her a small smile. She smiled back and offered her hand. He took it and she lead him out. STRQ had told them they could all meet out in front of the building the dance was taking place in.They we're meeting early of course, judging it couldn't start without Glynda since she was helping run it.  
  They reached the building much faster than Ozpin thought possible. Sure enough, Team STRQ were waiting for them. They all looked lovely of course. Summer had a white dress, the skirt part poofed out around her legs. It had a black floral design across its side. Raven had a sleeveless black dress with several red parts. The top of it as well a large bow around her middle was red, the skirt of the dress falling around her legs in layers. Taiyang wore a fairly simple suit with a yellow bowtie. Qrow... now Qrow was better than you would expect from him. His hair was brushed back nicely and he had a gray suit with a black tie.  
  Ozpin nudged Glynda as they approached, "I guess you owe me five bucks."  
  She rolled her eyes at him, letting go of his hand so she could wave to Team STRQ. "Hello. You all look nice."  
  "Thank you." Raven smiled proudly, impressed with herself.  
  "You two look nice too!" Summer chirped, obviously excited for the dance.  
  "Yeah. Veryyy nice." Qrow looked specifically at Ozpin, flashing him a smile.  
  Ozpin was unable to hide a blush, glancing away with a smile. "Thank you."  
  Summer grinned at him, "Oh my gosh, Ozpin! When Qrow told us you two were going together I couldn't believe it! Your so perfect!"  
  "Yeah, your pretty cute." Raven smirked. She suddenly became very serious, "If he hurts you EVER I will punch him in the face for you."  
  "Y-You don't have to-" Ozpin stammered. "It's alright."  
  "Yeah, jeez Raven." Qrow gave her a look. "Lighten up a bit."  
  Raven stuck her tongue out at Qrow before smiling again. She pulled Taiyang over to her by the arm, "I'm going with Tai here... I had to ask him though, he was too much of a chicken."  
  Glynda looked to Summer, "Are you going with anyone?"  
  "Nah." She waved a hand dismissively. "I'll be happy just being there, date or no date."  
  After talking for a bit Glynda finally headed in, telling them to follow whenever they'd like. They all just followed her when she headed in. As soon as she'd opened the doors it didn't take long for other students to start showing up. Raven headed straight to the dance floor of course, dragging Taiyang with her. Summer virtually disappeared into the crowd.  
  Qrow and Ozpin stayed off the side for the time being, just talking. "You know, green really does suit you." Qrow commented eventually.  
  "O-oh..." Ozpin shifted, his face burning as he didn't know how to take a compliment. "Thank you." He looked at Qrow. "You always look nice in dark colors."  
  "Of course I do." Qrow said confidently. He lowered his voice slightly, "Though between you and me I really didn't want to wear the tie."  
  Ozpin laughed softly. "But the tie looks nice on you!"   
  "Just cause it looks nice doesn't mean its comfortable." Qrow retorted. He perked as he heard a certain song come on. "Hey, can you dance?"  
  "Yes?"  
  "Okay good, come on." Qrow took his hand and led him away from the wall.  
  They passed Raven on their way, and she hissed, "Don't trust my brother, he can't dance."  
  "Ignore her." Qrow said as they passed her, turning to face Ozpin now that they were actually out on the dance floor. He offered Ozpin a smile before pulling him a tad closer. "You look really nervous." He murmured quietly.  
  "I might be just a tad nervous." Ozpin gave a small sheepish smile.  
  Qrow turned out to be very good at dancing, in fact a lot better than Ozpin would have expected. He wasn't complaining of course, it made things a lot more interesting. As he finally relaxed he found himself smiling a lot more, actually having fun. He and Qrow danced on and off, at one point Raven made a partner swap and ended up dancing with Ozpin,  sending Qrow with Taiyang.  
  She was very nice to Ozpin when he got nervous, reassuring him he was dancing fine and that he didn't need to freak out. Taiyang and Qrow were mostly a mess of laughter and giggles, finding dancing together hilarious. She made them swap again, stealing her brother for a moment and shoving Taiyang at Ozpin.  
  Of course Oz and Tai were extremely awkward and didn't really dance. Thankfully Summer and Glynda appeared out of nowhere, saving them from their own awkwardness. Summer stole Taiyang while Glynda went to Ozpin.  
  "Someone's having fun." She smiled at him.  
  "Okay, maybe I am." He smiled. "You were right, I shouldn't have been so nervous."  
  She just gave him a big smile before turning him and pushing him back in Qrow's direction. "Now go get back over there with Qrow."  
  Ozpin didn't argue with her, and seeing Qrow didn't actually have anyone with him now he approached him. "Well, that was fun."  
  "Man, when Raven grabbed you, you looked like you'd never even touched a girl before." Qrow chuckled.  
  "I wasn't expecting it was all!" Ozpin retorted, sighing and shaking his head. He perked as a typical slow song came on and he looked to Qrow, "So, is it alright if I ask for one more dance?"  
  Qrow smiled, "I don't see why not~"  
   It was very nice having this much slower dance, especially as it went uninterrupted by any of their friends. It was easy to get lost in the music and forget it wasnt just the two of them. They were much closer together than they'd been during the others, basically chest to chest and moving so well together they were like clockwork. Their faces were close enough, Ozpin knew if he just leaned in a tad more...  
  Qrow suddenly jolted as something hit the back of his head. He hissed under his breath, turning to glare in the direction it came from.  
  A small group of boys sitting at one of the tables off to the side were glaring at them, one of them shouting at them. "You stupid fucking gays! No one wants to see you two gross fags! Get the hell out!"  
  Ozpin grimaced, backing up from Qrow slightly. He should have guessed something like this would happen at some point but why did it have to be now?  
  Qrow, of course, was taking none of their shit. "Excuse me?!" He went straight to them, basically towering over them since they were sitting. "You wanna say that again?"  
  The guy who'd been shouting stood, giving Qrow a hard shove. "Fag!"  
  A sound rose from Qrow that couldn't only be described as a growl. "Why don't you shut the fuck up before I make you?!" He shoved the guy back.  
  Ozpin put his face in his hands groaning, "For crying out loud..."  
  It of course turned into a fight very fast, everyone turning to watch the two brawl. Qrow barely got hit, surprisingly good at dodging every punch the other threw. That's not to say the other guy fared too well, he ended up getting socked right in the face.  
  A teacher had to shove herself between the two young men to make them stop. She gave them both quite the scolding before kicking them out. Qrow grumbled but knew better than to argue with her, heading out. Ozpin didn't wait around to see where the other guy went, running after Qrow.  
  "You didn't have to start a fight." He said when he caught up.  
  "That guy started it." Qrow was obviously extremely grumpy, basically growling his words. He took a deep breathe, attempting to chill out. "Well, not sure what we should do now."  
  "Library?" Ozpin suggested.  
  Qrow shrugged, "Why not."  
  Basically everyone was at the dance, so the school was extremely quiet. They were completely fine with it of course, they didn't mind the solitude. They went straight to their little spot in the library on the couch. The fairytale book was usually just left on the table there.  
  Neither really grabbed the book. It didn't really feel like a reading night. Qrow shifted to tug lightly on his tie, "So am I required to keep this on or can I take this stupid thing off?"  
  Ozpin chuckled, "You don't have to keep it on... here," He turned to help him untie it and take it off. He hardly even noticed how close he'd gotten until he looked up. He didnt back away, his eyes locking with Qrow's and once again something in the back of his head urged him to lean forward just a few more inches. He felt Qrow's hand come up and rest on the side of his face, his thumb running over his cheek lightly.  
  When it finally happened it was so sudden yet so slow at the same time. Ozpin wasn't even completely sure how it happened but before he knew it Qrow's lips were on his. and he felt like he was on fire his face was so hot. The kiss broke after a moment and Qrow gave a soft laugh. "Your blushing~"  
  "Shut up." Ozpin couldn't contain a small laugh of his own before his arms found their way around Qrow and he was kissing him again. They teetered slightly before falling over on the couch, Qrow ontop of Ozpin.  
  Ozpin found out quickly that Qrow's hands loved to explore, they went from his face, over his chest, to down along his sides. Ozpin jumped when Qrow suddenly tickled him and broke the kiss due to laughing.  "Oh my god, QROW-" He managed between his laughing fits as he fought to keep Qrow's hands away.  
  "I knew you'd be ticklish!!" Qrow laughed evilly, showing no mercy as he fought back to tickle him more.  
  Ozpin ended up using one of his legs to shove Qrow away from him so he could catch his breathe. "I swear I WILL get my revenge on you."  
  "Try allll you want, I'm not ticklish." Qrow stuck his tongue out at him, chuckling. He raised his hands in defeat, "Okay okay, I won't tickle you anymore." Ozpin moved his leg and let him come back down. Qrow kissed his cheek, nuzzling him. "You have such an amazing laugh though."  
  Ozpin hummed happily, "I'm glad to hear it... It'd be bad if I had an awful laugh." He squeaked in surprise when Qrow shifted and started kissing his neck. He couldn't contain a small giggle and one of his hands found its way to Qrow's hair, gently running his fingers through it. It was quite comfortable laying there like that and Ozpin wasn't sure how long it'd been.  
  They both jumped when a voice broke their silence, "Am I interrupting something?" When they looked it was Raven.  
  Qrow basically fell off the couch trying to get off of Ozpin, and Oz himself sat up way faster than he thought possible. "No!" They responded in unison.  
  She gave them both a wide grin "It looks like you two were having fun~" When Qrow glared at her she laughed. "I'm messing around, calm down. The others sent me to find you two, we were gonna all go to the cafeteria together. They wanted you guys to come."  
  Qrow glanced at Ozpin, before pushing himself to his feet. "Fine, why not."  
 Ozpin didn't argue. As much as he'd like to stay here with Qrow, if they didn't show up the others would start to talk and everyone knows where that would lead. As they followed Raven out of the library they glanced to each other and smiled. Qrow gestured down with his head and when Ozpin looked he saw he was offering him his hand. Ozpin smiled and happily took it. They walked the rest of the way hand in hand.


	7. Birds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! A lot of writers block happened to me during this chapter but luckily I'm OVER THE WRITERS BLOCK FINALLY.
> 
> This chapter is where things start to take a less fluffy, cute turn. just a warning darlings!

  The next few weeks passed just as any other, Ozpin and Qrow trained and went to classes. During their offtime they went off to read, like usual. They were almost through the entire book at this point, they'd have to start rereading them eventually.  
  They'd made the decision to keep their relationship more on the quiet side after the dance. They'd both prefer not to have those events repeat themselves. It wasn't too bad hiding it, no one bothered them.  
  Ozpin was a bit worried though. Raven had talked to him the other day and what she said made him anxious...

  "Hey... uh, Oz. Could we talk?" She asked.  
  "Oh, of course."  
  "Okay, here come with me." She led him outside, talking to him as they walked. "I just wanted to make sure that Qrow's been treating you well."  
  "Oh, yes, he has." Ozpin smiled a bit. "He's nothing to worry about.  
  Raven frowned. "I don't know about that..." She murmured. "Listen. You know him as well as I do, heck, maybe even better than I do. He's a bit... yknow, flirty with literally everyone."  
  "What exactly are you trying to imply...?" He asked slowly.  
  She sighed. "I just think you should try to keep an eye on him... His behavior can get... a little out of hand sometimes." She gave him a look.  
  Ozpin stared at her in silence a few moments before saying quietly. "He wouldn't cheat on me."  
  "Are you saying that because you know he wouldn't or because you hope he wouldn't?"

  Ever since that conversation Ozpin had been watching Qrow more. Sure, Qrow did flirt a lot but he never really meant it when he flirted with others...right? Ozpin had kept trying to brush it off but anxiety can do awful things.  
  One day Ozpin had to stay late to finish a history assignment and asked Glynda before she left class to tell Qrow he'd be busy for a while. She said she would and headed out. As soon as he was finished he left quickly, he and Glynda had plans for later in the day that he'd like to get to. He kept his eyes open for Qrow of course, as he did whenever he went anywhere now. He actually did spot him on his way through the commons. Qrow was leaned against the wall on the other side of the room, talking to some girl. Go figure.  
  Ozpin adjusted his glasses and he tried to just ignore it. From how she was blushing and giggling he was sure the things Qrow was saying would just annoy him if he went over there. It wasn't until he noticed she had horns on her head was it he stopped and stared. Qrow talking to a faunus?! Since when?!  
  He made a beeline for them immediately, shoving past a few people in his rush. "Qrow!" He called once he was in earshot.  
  Qrow perked and waved when he saw him. The girl glanced to see who was calling to him and was trying to hide her red face with her hands.  
 Qrow started, "Hey Oz, what's u-"  
  "We need to talk." Was all Ozpin said, grabbing Qrow's arm firmly. He glanced to the faunus. "You don't mind if I borrow him do you?"  
  "O-Oh no, it's fine." She murmured shyly.  
  Ozpin gave her a small smile before dragging Qrow off with him. Qrow allowed himself to be tugged away, though did pause to wave bye to her, "See ya later Fawn!" She waved back shyly before Ozpin tugged Qrow out of view.  
  As soon as they were in an empty hallway Ozpin turned to face Qrow. "Why were you talking to her?!"  
  "Um, I'm allowed to talk to people and make new friends?" Qrow responded sarcastically.  
  "But she's a FAUNUS. You don't like faunus!"  
  Qrow shrugged. "People can change."  
  Ozpin stared hard at him before shaking his head. "No... No, not you. You don't just change so suddenly like that, YOUR too stubborn to change so suddenly like that."  
  "Are you saying I can't realize my wrongs and want to be nice to those freaks?!" Qrow snapped. He paused, then gave an annoyed sigh as he realized his poor choice of words. He crossed his arms, looking away. "I'm just bored Oz. I thought I'd mix things up a little."  
  Ozpin was frowning now. "Qrow. You can't just... Do you even actually like her at all as a person?"  
  "I hardly know her yet. She's pretty I guess. The horns are still weird though." Qrow frowned at him. "What does it matter?"  
  "Qrow, you could end up hurting her feelings!" Ozpin exclaimed.  
  Qrow made a face. "Euck, your starting to sound like Summer."  
  Ozpin wanted to scream into his hands. "If you don't like her, don't talk to her anymore. If you hurt her it's your fault."  
  Qrow groaned, turning away. "And now you sound exactly like Summer, are you sure your not her in disguise?"  
  Ozpin let out a frustrated groan of his own. "Is any of this even getting through to you?!" He was starting to see why Qrow and Summer fought so much.  
  Qrow didn't respond, ignoring him. Oh, so this was the game they were gonna play now? Fine, Ozpin knew he could play it just as well. He huffed and turned on his heel, leaving.  
  He stayed grumpy the rest of the day until he met with Glynda outside of the school. When she saw him she caught on almost immediately. "Somebody had a bad day."  
  Ozpin grumbled, "You think?"  
  "What happened?" She asked, slipping away her tablet. He glared at the ground instead of responding. "Was it Qrow?" She asked after several seconds.  
  Ozpin immediately broke, letting loose his words, "It's just- He never LISTENS! I try to talk to him about something serious and he shuts me out! I try to talk to him about the 'flirting with other people thing' he ignores me! I try to ask Raven to try talking to him and he ignores her! I just, sometimes I just want to-" He made an aggravated noise his hands clenching into fists.  
  "I am still open to killing him for you." She stated.  
  Ozpin sighed, running his hands over his face and trying to calm down. "No. Don't kill him... If anyone should end up killing him its either his Team or me."  
  Glynda laughed. "Alright... Well. I think in a way it's nice to see you so worked up over him."  
  "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Ozpin gave her a dull look.  
  "Well, your usually so calm." She explained. "Seeing you get so mad about something is like... I can tell how much you really care."  
  Ozpin gave a small 'mm' in response. He sighed again, adjusting his glasses. "I just wish he'd listen more when it's something actually important."  
  "Well, maybe try talking to him about it when he can't back off or run away." Glynda suggested. "He can't ignore what you have to say forever."  
  Ozpin sighed. "He wishes he could ignore it forever." He straightened himself, looking at her. "I can worry about all this later... we have business to attend to."  
  Her expression turned serious and she nodded. "Yes, we do."  
\-----------  
  Raven slammed her fist on the table so hard Ozpin was surprised it didn't break. "He is such a damn brat..." She hissed through clenched teeth.  
  Ozpin was frowning. He'd explained what had happened the day before to her and her reaction was as expected. "He's ignoring me too now." He added.  
  She gritted her teeth, glaring hard enough at the table it could catch fire. "Oh he is such a little..." She took a deep breathe, looking at Ozpin. "Are you alright?"  
  "I'm mad." He stated simply, his arms crossed. "And honestly, I don't how if I'm alright."  
  She pressed her lips together in a thin line, her finger tapping against the table. "I am going to talk to him."  
  "You can try." Ozpin sighed, looking down.  
  Raven frowned. "Ah man... Oz, I hate seeing this happen..." She leaned her head against one of her hands. "I mean... he really does like you. That I know, it's so easy to see.. But he's got some really bad habits." She glanced away a bit, her eyes growing distant. "He had a girlfriend he loved more than anything once upon a time... From before we came to Beacon. She was real nice, pretty, loyal. But you know how he is, his bad tendencies never really stopped. So one day," She snapped her fingers, "poof, she was gone. He was really bent out of shape cause of that. He got mad, then sad, then hysterical. Those stupid bad habits of his just got worse after it. You'd think he'd have stopped but no they just kept getting worse and worse." She sighed and shook her head. "He's just repeating himself now and I hate it..."  
  Ozpin was frowning. He asked quietly, "What was her name...?"  
  Raven looked at him, "Hm?"  
  "Her name... The girl who left him."  
  "Oh..." She smiled though it was bittersweet. "Her name was Amber."  
\--------------  
  "QROW BRANWEN." Raven basically kicked the door in.  
  Qrow had looked up and realizing how furious she was tried to hide behind either Summer or Taiyang but he wasn't nearly fast enough. She tackled him and sent them both to the ground. They'd wrestled plenty growing up and Qrow hated it because Raven was actually better than him at it. She quickly had him pinned with both his arms behind his back. "Mister you are going to listen to me or you'll end up with a broken arm." She hissed.  
  He didn't even bother trying to struggle, knowing escape was futile at this point. "Agh- Fine! What the hell do you want?!"  
  "I want you to apologize to Ozpin!"  
  "Is this SERIOUSLY what this is about?!" He yelped as she started twisting one of his arms a direction it definetly should not go.  
  "Yes! It is!!" She snapped. "Do you have any idea how he feels right now?!"  
  "Do you?!" Qrow retorted.  
  "Well I sure as hell have a better idea than you do. Cause I actually LISTEN when the guy wants to talk to me!" She grabbed his by his hair, yanking his head back hard enough she was sure it was painful. "He is your damn boyfriend for crying out loud you need to fucking listen when he talks to you!" She twisted his arm even more.  
  He yelped again, yelling. "SHIT- SUMMER TELL HER TO STOP."  
  Summer and Taiyang had been staying off to the side, not wanting to interfere. Summer did finally step forward when Qrow cried out for her. "Raven... I think that's enough. Let him go."  
  Raven looked at Summer angrily but didn't argue. She let go and got off of him, crossing her arms as she stood. Qrow rolled onto his back so he could sit up, hissing under his breathe as he rubbed his arm. "Good god Raven..."  
  Everyone was silent for a bit, but they all shared glances before they looked at Qrow. He didn't take long to notice them staring. "What?!"  
    "Raven's right you know..." Summer murmured. When Qrow looked away and didn't respond to her she sighed. She went and sat next to him. "Qrow. You know what your doing don't you?" He was silent. "I won't ask you to explain why your doing it. I understand maybe even you don't know why. But please, you need to talk to Ozpin so he doesn't..." She paused, glancing at Raven before gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want a repeat of Amber...?"  
  She could feel him shaking, and she swore she'd never seen him tear up before. "No." He sounded like he was choking.  
  Ravens angry expression had faded. She went and sat with him as well, hugging him. She gently said, "This is why we want you to talk to him... just... try to explain to him yourself."  
  "Explain to him?! I wouldn't know what to say other than 'I'm sorry' over and over and over..."  
  Taiyang murmured, "Just tell him whatever he wants you to tell him. Tell him exactly how you feel. Even just saying your sorry helps."  
  Qrow didn't respond and none of them forced him to. Eventually he shifted and stood up. "Do any of you know where he is?" He asked quietly.  
  "He's out in the courtyard with Glynda. Yknow, they're doing Team GO things." Raven stood with him. She ruffled his hair and fixed his shirt before smiling at him. She tugged lightly on his cheek, "Make sure you smile at him doofus."  
  Qrow chuckled and smiled softly. He waved bye to them and headed out. He found himself walking a bit faster than usual, eager to get out there. He went straight to the tree they were usually under but neither Glynda or Oz where to be found. He sighed, leaning against the tree.  
  He nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice seemed to come out of nowhere, "Oh! Hi Qrow!"  
  He glanced over and saw the deer faunus girl he'd been talking to before. He frowned a bit, remembering Ozpin yelling at him, and looked down. "Hey Fawn."  
  "Are you okay?" She asked, seeming worried.  
  "Yeah... looking for a friend."  
  "Oh!" She perked. "Could I help you look?"  
  "I don't see why not." He pushed himself away from the tree and started walking.  
  She trotted after him, smiling politely. "So, who are you looking for?"  
  "His names Ozpin. He's the guy with glasses and silver hair that dragged me off the other day?"  
  "Oh I remember him! He seems like he's a nice guy." She crossed her arms behind her back, "What did he want to talk to you about then anyway?"  
  Qrow frowned. "...He was mad at me."  
  "What for?"  
  He looked at his feet, grimacing. "Maybe we shouldn't talk about this."  
  "That's okay!" She chirped, smiling when he glanced at her.  
  How on earth was she so happy? She seemed like she was smiling all the time, it was ridiculous. His eyes found their way to her antlers and he quickly looked away. Why DID he talk to her? Ozpin was completely right, he didn't really like faunus. But then again when was Ozpin ever wrong...  
  He sighed. He really was like The King, wasn't he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter feels really badly written I'll try to do better with the future chapters ;^;
> 
> I'll also have a link to a picture of what Fawn lools like for everyone in the next chapter! So that's a thing to look forward to I suppose?  
> (I'm sorry I'm literally so bad at this *sob*)


	8. Kiss And Make Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, honestly I got really busy and couldn't update this for awhile but man oh man now I can  
> I fully plan on finishing this though!  
> (I don't have the picture of Fawn like i said I would, I'm sorry)

   "Glynda, can I ask for information on a fellow student?" Ozpin asked casually, staring out one of the windows at the school courtyard. He could see Qrow walking about with Fawn.  
  Glynda, who was organizing files, looked up. "Of course, who is it?"  
  "A deer faunus named Fawn." He murmured, watching the two walk until he couldn't see them anymore.  
  Glynda took a moment, pulling up student files on her tablet. She gave a thoughtful hum before reading off, "Fawn Dear, a first year and a member of Team LAFS. Very kind and does well in all her classes from what her teachers say. The other members of her Team are Lilah Crescent, and siblings Alfie and Sylvie Smith. They're nothing exceptional but they're still your standard team as far as skill goes." She looked over the edge of her glasses. "Are you asking because of Qrow?"  
  Ozpin didn't respond, staring out the window still. He sighed and went to another file they had out on the table to thumb through it. "Just curious."  
  Glynda gave him a look but refrained from commenting. She changed the subject instead. "So the Vytal Festival is on its way finally. Are you excited for it?"  
  He shrugged, "It just means more papers for us. We can't compete."  
  "We could just hop in during the doubles round."  
  "That would feel like cheating." He glanced at her. "It wouldn't feel right to be able to just jump in without fighting in the first round."  
  "Then we could just actually fight in the first round." She said simply. "And probably lose but it'd be fun."  
  Ozpin shook his head, looking back to the papers he was organizing. "I think our definitions of fun are different."  
  They wrapped up as quickly as they could, their conversation trailing off eventually as they worked in silence. It didn't really pick back up as they walked out but neither minded it. It was nice to just have silence sometimes.  
  They were walking back to their room when Ozpin heard someone shouting his name from down one of the hallways. When he looked he saw Qrow, followed by Fawn of course, running down to greet him. He skidded to a halt in front of Team GO, not speaking right away.  
  "Oz... I need to talk to you." He said slowly.  
  Ozpin wasn't really sure what stirred in him, but he felt offended. "Oh? So you want to talk to me NOW?!" There was enough venom in his voice to kill. "Oh! I see, I see... when I want to talk to YOU, I get ignored. But then all of a sudden you decide you need to talk to me instead?!"  
  Qrow looked hurt. "Oz, I was being stupid. I'm sorry, but we really-"  
  "No!" Ozpin snapped. "No, your not going to do that to me, and then expect me to just listen to you!"  
  "Please Ozzy-"  
  "DONT. OZZY. ME."  
  Fawn looked scared and Glynda gently grabbed her shoulder, "Fawn, was it? We should give them some space." She didn't wait for an answer, gently pushing Fawn back down the hall she and Qrow had come from.  
  Once they disappeared, Ozpin looked at the floor angrily and said nothing. Qrow frowned reaching a hand forward  but quickly drawing it back for fear of making Ozpin snap at him again. "Oz..." He paused. "Ozpin..." He said as slowly and seriously as he could. Saying his actual name and not one of his nicknames felt wrong. "I'm so sorry. I was being a stubborn idiot... I'm an awful awful person. And I just, if you want to not talk to me anymore I get it-" Qrow stopped as Ozpin slowly stepped forward.  
  He didn't look up, hugging Qrow and resting his forehead on his shoulder. "Qrow... shut up." He murmured.  
  Qrow sighed in relief, he didn't seem as mad anymore. He hugged him back, nestling his face against Ozpins hair. "So... you had stuff you wanted to talk to me about?" He asked quietly.  
  Ozpin nodded.  
  "Alright... I'll listen." Qrow said gently, leaning back and looking at him. "Let's go somewhere we can sit, alright?"  
  Ozpin nodded again, leading the way. He didn't let go of Qrows arm as they walked, almost like he was scared Qrow would run away if he did.  
  They went to the library of course, settling onto their couch. They didn't talk at first, just trying to figure out exactly what they wanted to say. Ozpin finally murmured, "I'm sorry I kept getting mad... I just didn't know how to deal with you ignoring me."  
  "No, Oz, I'm the one who's sorry." Qrow frowned. "I was being really stupid and I don't know what I was thinking. If you really want me to stop talking to Fawn I will."  
  "No! I'm okay if you talk to her." Ozpin looked up at him. "I actually like that your getting along with a faunus... I just want you to try and stop the flirting."  
  Qrow nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll try my best to stop." He promised.  
  "Thank you." Ozpin gave a small shaky sigh of relief, looking down again.  
  Qrow frowned before he gestured to Ozpin to come closer. "C'mere," As soon as he did, Qrow hugged him close again, nuzzling the top of his head. "Am I allowed to call you Ozzy again?"  
  Ozpin laughed weakly, turning to wrap his arms around Qrow. "Call me whatever you want."  
  Qrow snickered, kissing the top of Ozpins head. "Anything else?"  
  "Maybe listen the first time when I say I want to talk to you?"  
  "Right, got it."  
  Ozpin smiled, shifting to look up at Qrow. "I missed this."  
  "Me too." Qrow gave him a soft smile in return.  
  Ozpin felt much better now that Qrow was actually listening to him, smiling. He absent-mindedly traced patterns on Qrows chest as they stayed silent for awhile. Eventually Qrow murmured, "Once upon a time there were four maidens..."  
  Ozpin perked, but continued, "Summer, Spring, Fall and Winter." They went on to recite the entire story from memory, and Ozpin couldn't help but smile. When they finished he murmured, "You remember it..."  
  "Of course I do. You did say it was your favorite after all." Qrow smiled.  
  Ozpin smiled in return before sitting up to kiss Qrow lightly. Qrow didn't hesitate to return the gesture, one of his hands sliding into Ozpins hair. Ozpin didn't want this to ever change. He wished they could stay there forever, just the two of them and forget about the world. As Qrow pulled him close and his hands slid through his hair, it almost felt like they could just stay here forever.  
  Too bad time would never allow that.


End file.
